Toshiba is latest to be affected by Sony-produced notebook
batteries. The company announced on Monday that it would recall 340,000
batteries found in its Dynabook and Satellite series notebooks -- 100,000 of
which were sold in the United States.

It should be noted that this recall doesn't involve
batteries catching fire as in previous recalls. Instead, this recall is related
to the battery packs unexpectedly losing power under normal operating
conditions. Toshiba says that the affected batteries were produced between March
and May of 2006 and free replacements will be offered. Yahoo!
Finance reports:

The series of
production problems at Sony comes at a crucial time when the Tokyo-based
electronics and entertainment company behind the Walkman portable player and
PlayStation video game machines has been trying to bolster its brand image
under the leadership of its first foreign executive, Welsh-born Howard
Stringer.

You do realize that these massive recalls are not as much a problem with the battery itself, rather the image the media attached to all Sony batteries; which is that they explode. Like someone said before, you are more likely to have a bus hit you than a battery explode on you (assuming no tampering).

Poor Sony just didn't have the damage control party out in time to sooth the media, hence now they pay the price.

Actually, recalls on the specific cells with the defect are appropriate. If the media stretches the truth about whether other cells without the defect are questionable, it would have to be taken on a case-by-case basis.

There's not a lot of damage control one can do when your product is exploding. The media isn't looking to be soothed, they're looking for readership- and spectacles are what bring that.

Randomly claiming "more likely hit by bus" is completely missing the point, and for those who have a laptop with the particular, defective Sony cells, likely untrue.

Ask someone who had a laptop explode, is it ok so long as they weren't hit by a bus? Saftey is not about thinking "we can ignore this because there is some other greater risk in life".

On the other hand, there are certainly going to be those who exaggerate the problem, but Sony knew about the cell defects and sat around waiting for explosions to hit the news instead of the more consumer friendly, early-recall. Do you want a product from a company that does this? I don't, it's one more strike in a long line of them for Sony.

How many PSUs have you had explode on you, how many have you heard about exploding and frying circuitry that can lead to a fire? Now have you heard anything from the media about this, and do you see any recall from the menufacturers about this?

Batteries exploding is definately not something new, however I cannot recall previously when we had this many videos and pictures as well as media coverage of them doing so.